Structural Biology News and Research

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Zenobia, Lundbeck enter research collaboration for LRRK2 Parkinson's disease target

Zenobia Therapeutics, Inc. the leader in fragment-based lead discovery for CNS diseases, announced today a research collaboration with H. Lundbeck A/S utilizing Zenobia's expertise in protein expression and x-ray crystallography for the Parkinson's disease target, LRRK2. Under the agreement, Zenobia will continue to use its capabilities in fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) to advance its internal LRRK2 drug discovery program independently of Lundbeck.

16 Dec 2010

University of Utrecht orders for Bruker 527 GHz Solid State DNP-NMR system

Bruker announces the first order for a novel and unique 527 GHz Solid State DNP-NMR system, based on an ultra-high field NMR system. Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) has been shown to greatly increase solid-state NMR sensitivity for numerous bio-solids and advanced materials research applications.

13 Dec 2010

Research on ribosome could aid antibiotic development against MRSA infection

Theoretical biologists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have used a New Mexico supercomputer to aid an international research team in untangling another mystery related to ribosomes-those enigmatic jumbles of molecules that are the protein factories of living cells.

3 Dec 2010

NIH awards $6.7M to establish Membrane Protein Structural Biology Consortium

Dr. Michael G. Malkowski, Hauptman-Woodward senior research scientist, has received a $6.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in support of his work to establish the Membrane Protein Structural Biology Consortium (mpsbc.org) as one of nine centers in the United States responsible for determining membrane protein structures within a larger NIH biology-based initiative.

26 Nov 2010

New findings on HIV can help validate structure-based drug design approach

The development of new drugs to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS depends on understanding the basic biology of how the virus infects human cells. For 25 years, researchers supported primarily by NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) have been generating the structures of key viral proteins, revealing important insights into the virus's mechanisms and, more importantly, its Achilles' heels.

15 Nov 2010

Reata to present bardoxolone methyl Phase 2b clinical trial data for CKD, type 2 diabetes at ASN Conference

Reata Pharmaceuticals today announced that the company will present data on the primary endpoint from a pivotal Phase 2b clinical trial of bardoxolone methyl in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes. The data will be presented in a late-breaking oral presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Renal Week Conference to be held November 16-21, 2010, in Denver, Colorado.

12 Nov 2010

New feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect presents proteins in three dimensions

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, medical and technical products and services, introduces Protein Viewer, a new, interactive feature on SciVerse ScienceDirect for the Journal of Molecular Biology (JMB). With Protein Viewer, readers of JMB now have the power to expand and rotate molecules within the actual article. SciVerse ScienceDirect merges features of the World Protein Database and Jmol, and embeds them into the article, making its use more convenient and user-friendly.

26 Oct 2010

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

In a technical tour de force, structural biologists funded by the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of a molecule involved in HIV infection and in many forms of cancer. The high-resolution structure sheds light on how the molecule functions and could point to ways to control its activity, potentially locking out HIV and stalling cancer's spread.

8 Oct 2010

NIH awards Scripps Research grants to study the mechanisms of protein complex

For Immediate Release -Scripps Research Institute scientists have been awarded approximately $65 million in four five-year grants as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) latest round of structural biology funding. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins and protein complexes that are important in biology and medicine.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers identify mechanism that makes bacteria to resist antibiotics

A research team led by Edward Yu of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has discovered the crystal structures of pumps that remove heavy metal toxins from bacteria, making them resistant to antibiotics.

24 Sep 2010

Structure of key protein for cellular signal transduction elucidated

Scientists of the Institute of Structural Biology of Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München have succeeded in elucidating the structure of an important region of the Sam68 protein. Sam68 is a key protein for cellular signal transduction. The Journal of Biological Chemistry has selected the report of these research findings as one of two "papers of the week" for its September 10, 2010 issue and has chosen the structural model as cover image.

10 Sep 2010

UB symposium to discuss in silico molecular design, high-throughput screening to treat diseases

Twenty-first-century pharmaceutical breakthroughs require 21st-century drug discovery tools, such as computational or in silico molecular design and high-throughput screening of effective, new compounds. That's the theme of a University at Buffalo symposium to be held Sept. 11 on "Twenty-first Century Bioscience: In Silico Methods and High-Throughput Screening," which will feature a variety of cutting-edge advances in the field developed by researchers in Western New York and throughout the US.

3 Sep 2010

Emerald BioStructures, SomaLogic announce strategic collaboration for SOMAmers

Emerald BioStructures, a leading provider of integrated structural biology services, and SomaLogic, Inc., a diagnostics and biomarker discovery company, today announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration for the structure-based design of chemically modified DNA aptamers and small molecule therapeutics, based on crystal structures of important protein targets bound to high affinity SOMAmers.

3 Sep 2010

Albert Einstein College of Medicine named 1 of 5 Nathan Shock Centers

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has been named one of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging. The select group of five centers nationwide provides leadership in the pursuit of basic research into the biology of aging. Einstein's designation includes a $3.1 million, five-year grant from the NIH's National Institute on Aging.

17 Aug 2010

Research finding uncovers alternative treatments for people with hereditary colorectal cancer

By solving the three-dimensional structure of a protein involved in repairing DNA errors, a group of McMaster University researchers have revealed new avenues to develop assessment tools and alternative treatments for people living with hereditary colorectal cancers.

9 Jul 2010

Emerald, FORMA sign strategic partnership for structure-based design of cancer drug candidates

Emerald BioStructures, a leading provider of integrated structural biology services, and FORMA Therapeutics, a drug discovery company, today announced the signing of a strategic partnership for the structure-based design of cancer drug candidates for FORMA's pipeline.

28 Jun 2010

Electron cryomicroscopy helps observe molecules in hydrated state close to natural state

Gene expression takes place in two stages: the transcription of DNA to RNA by an enzyme called RNA polymerase, , followed by the translation of this RNA into proteins, whose behaviour affects the characteristics of each individual.

21 Jun 2010

Sapient Discovery, Helicon Therapeutics enter structural biology collaboration

Sapient Discovery, LLC., a structure-guided drug discovery company, announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the Helicon Therapeutics, Inc., a San Diego based pharmaceutical company. Under the terms of the agreement, Sapient Discovery will apply its proprietary structural biology platform and expertise to determine the three-dimensional structures for targets of interest to Helicon Therapeutics, Inc.

16 Jun 2010

New findings may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV

Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Nebraska Medical Center have created a three-dimensional picture of an important protein that is involved in how HIV -- the virus responsible for AIDS -- is produced inside human cells. The picture may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV from reproducing.

10 Jun 2010

DFG approves establishment of twelve new CRCs

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has approved the establishment of twelve new Collaborative Research Centres beginning 1 July 2010. This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee at its spring meeting in Bonn. The new CRCs will initially be funded for four years with a total of 112 million euros (including a 20% programme allowance for indirect project costs).

29 May 2010